Save All Saints Parish - Lockport

All Saints Parish received information today, from our canon lawyer in Rome, indicating that the Supreme Tribunal declined to hear our appeal. This ends the appeal process. We have no information to report regarding the pending merge with St. John’s or what will become of our parish properties.

Good news for St. Joseph’s Church.

The Dicastery for the Clergy has revoked the bishop’s decree that would have reduced St. Joseph’s to non-sacred use. This ensures the building cannot be repurposed in ways inconsistent with its sacred character.

The appeal process continues for All Saints Parish, of which St. Joseph’s remains a secondary worship site. If the appeal is not successful, St. Joseph’s would become the property of St. John’s.

We’re grateful for this important step forward and will continue to share updates as they become available.

In recent days, several local parishes have received very encouraging news:
• The Vatican has ruled that Holy Apostles in Jamestown and Our Lady of Peace in Clarence will remain freestanding parishes, as confirmed by Save Our Buffalo Churches and WIVB News 4.
• Bishop Fisher has revoked his April 3, 2025 decree suppressing the personal parish of Our Lady of Bistrica, due to procedural errors in the required consultation with the Presbyteral Council. A new decree would be required before any future action is taken.

These decisions show that appeals can be heard and parishes can be saved.

Our own effort to Save All Saints Parish is still very much alive. Please:
• Keep praying for our parish, our parishioners, and our diocese
• Stay informed and share this post
• Continue to support All Saints with your presence and your voice

Together, in faith and hope, we will keep working for the future of All Saints Parish. 🙏💙

Appeal update:
We recently received a letter from the Apostolic Signatura in Rome. They rejected our appeal after a review at the in limine (“at the start”) stage. We told you we would appeal until we were out of options. So we’ve hired a canon lawyer in Rome to represent us before the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, as this is the last step in the appeal process. The decision we receive at this stage is final. Please keep All Saints Parish in your prayers and keep the faith.

Parish Update on Rome’s Decision and Appeal

The Dicastery has issued its ruling regarding our parish. While it upheld the Bishop’s decision to merge us into St. John’s, it also made very clear that parish monies cannot be taken to pay for abuse settlements or Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

As Philip Gray of the St. Joseph Foundation explains, “The Diocese, the Bishop cannot take money from the parish for the s*x abuse lawsuits.”

We have now appealed to the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest judicial authority, which represents the final stages of this process. We ask for your continued prayers as we move through this recourse, and we will remain open and transparent throughout.

We recently received a decree from the Dicastery for the Clergy. The Dicastery has ruled against us regarding our merger into St. John’s. We are still in recourse, and at this time we are continuing our appeal to the Dicastery to address the misinformation their ruling was based on. We will continue to appeal until we are out of options. Never give up hope, and keep praying.

Small Victory: St. Joseph’s to Remain Open

We’ve received confirmation: St. Joseph’s will remain open until all appeals are exhausted.

📸 Photo by Amanda Reid. Used with permission.

📣 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 📣

There will be a Town Hall Parish Meeting for All Saints Parishioners at 7 PM on Monday, June 16th in our Parish Hall.

This meeting is your chance to voice your concerns about the assessment imposed by the Diocese related to the class action lawsuit.

🗣️ Let your voice be heard.
📅 Mark your calendar.
📍 All Saints Parish Hall
🕖 Monday, June 16 at 7:00 PM

Your attendance matters. Let’s stand together. ✝️

🎉 Congrats to all our May Calendar Winners! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who supported the May Calendar Fundraiser! Whether you were one of our winners or not, your support means the world and helps keep our mission going strong.

Here are all our lucky winners from the month of May:

5/1 – Emily Le ($25)
5/2 – Gail Murphy ($25)
5/3 – Denise DiTullio ($200)
5/4 – Lois McGuinness ($25)
5/5 – Mary & Art Brown ($25)
5/6 – Michael Tyx ($25)
5/7 – Anita Mullane ($100)
5/8 – Dawn Ventura ($25)
5/9 – Jill Oakes ($25)
5/10 – Betty Sharkey ($200)
5/11 – Lena Villella ($25)
5/12 – Jill Clarke ($25)
5/13 – Barb Schossel ($25)
5/14 – Teresa Kearns ($100)
5/15 – Carol Bowen ($25)
5/16 – Gail Murphy ($25)
5/17 – Carol Bush ($200)
5/18 – Krista Kerrissey ($25)
5/19 – Joanne Woodside ($25)
5/20 – Christopher & Patricia Dool ($25)
5/21 – Peter Gentile ($100)
5/22 – John Angelo ($25)
5/23 – Thomas Marchiole ($25)
5/24 – Karen Grundy ($200)
5/25 – Sheila Tracy ($25)
5/26 – Fran Klumpp ($25)
5/27 – Debbie Williams ($25)
5/28 – Mary Ellen Hinton ($100)
5/29 – Icole Stymus ($25)
5/30 – Mike Fenzl ($25)
5/31 – Sam Oakes ($200)

🎊 Congrats again to everyone, and thank you for being part of this effort. Stay tuned for more fun ways to support the cause!

We’re excited to share that the Dicastery for the Clergy has officially accepted our appeal for examination regarding the Diocese of Buffalo’s decree to merge All Saints Parish with St. John’s.

Even more importantly, the Dicastery has suspended the merger decree for the entire duration of the appeal process. That means All Saints Parish remains open and active while our case is under review.

This is a significant step forward and we want to thank everyone who has donated, prayed, and supported this effort so far. Your generosity has brought us closer to our fundraising goal, but we’re not there yet.

We still need your help to cover the legal and filing expenses of this appeal. If you’re able, please consider donating and sharing.

Ways to Donate:
•GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/c3e21cf5
•Credit Union: Donate directly to the account at Cornerstone CFCU, made out to Save All Saints Parish
•By Mail:
Make checks payable to Save All Saints Parish
Mail to:
Donna Wick
6617 N. Canal Rd
Lockport, NY 14094

Thank you again for your prayers and support.

Donate to Save All Saints Parish: Support Our Appeal, organized by Peter Burke My name is Peter Burke, and I am a member of the parish core group, a dedicated… Peter Burke needs your support for Save All Saints Parish: Support Our Appeal